The national media is aiding the NCAA's witch hunt that centers on the Tennessee Vols
I knew it would be this way. I think everyone knew it would be this way. But reading some of the takes from the national media on the NCAA's investigation into the Tennessee Vols' NIL dealings has left me completely flabbergasted. I mean, are these national writers really this ignorant? The respect they give the […]
I knew it would be this way. I think everyone knew it would be this way. But reading some of the takes from the national media on the NCAA's investigation into the Tennessee Vols' NIL dealings has left me completely flabbergasted.
I mean, are these national writers really this ignorant?
The respect they give the NCAA is truly unbelievable. The NCAA opens an investigation into Tennessee over an alleged ride on a private jet by Nico Iamaleava a couple of years ago and suddenly these clowns are acting like this is one of the only violations that's gone down in the sport since NIL was introduced.
My guys, you can't be this out of touch. Or maybe you can. I don't know. Those guys seem to live in this weird "bro bubble" where they spend all day making appearances on each other's shows while simultaneously using a thesaurus to make the thoughts they tweet seem somehow more intelligent.
Good for them I guess. But it's incredibly frustrating….and annoying.
Take USA Today's Dan Wolken for example.
He thinks he's a real smart cat with this tweet.
Yeah Dan, everyone knows that pay-for-play was never allowed regardless of the existence of NIL. But we also know, wink wink, that it's exactly what's happening across the sport.
That's why Spyre Sports and attorney Mike Caspino drew up Iamaleava's NIL contract in such a way that it didn't bind him to Tennessee. Sure, we all know what was happening there. But on paper, it was a deal between Iamaleava and a collective. Tennessee, legally, wasn't involved.
As Caspino said in 2022, the collective was taking on a risk making the deal because there was nothing in the deal that guaranteed that Iamaleava would sign with Tennessee.
These are facts that attorney Tom Mars has since confirmed.
The smoking gun for the NCAA appears to be the private jet. And Tennessee's defense, at least it sounds like, is that Iamaleava flew on this jet that was provided by the collective before the collective was deemed by the NCAA to be a booster (that's an absurdity in itself, by the way). Tennessee's complaint is that the NCAA shouldn't be allowed to retroactively punish the program for this when the collective wasn't deemed a booster at the time.
Wolken completely ignores this. Or maybe he's not smart enough to figure it out. Both are solid possibilities.
And sure, Wolken has a point that we don't know all of the evidence. But again, let's use a little logic here. The story from the New York Times that broke the news of the private jet was obviously leaked from the NCAA (where else could it possibly come from). And it came not long after UT's letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker was made public via reporting by VolQuest. There could be more evidence, but this is seemingly the NCAA's biggest "gotcha" bullet.
The real story, the one that Wolken and the rest of his national media bros are ignoring, is that NIL pay-for-play is a crisis across the ENTIRE sport.
And everyone knows it. Tampering is happening. Coaches are openly talking about programs buying recruits. Players are announcing new NIL deals with collectives when they announce their return for another season. The idea that this private jet ride in 2022 is the most egregious violation of NIL that the sport has seen is absolutely ludicrous. Ultimately, that's what Tennessee fans are pissed off about. And it's almost certainly what angers the leadership at UT. How are you going to come after Tennessee for this "violation" that probably isn't going to hold up in court when there have been countless, thousands upon thousands, of pay-for-play NIL deals made over the last year?
The fact that the national media is zeroing in on whether or not Tennessee should be punished for breaking a rule that didn't exist yet — instead of focusing on the crisis the sport is facing — makes this feel like a witch hunt by the NCAA. And guys like Dan Wolken, Pat Forde, Dennis Dodd, and other pretentious media bros are allies to the NCAA in this witch hunt.
It's disgusting, honestly. Because really, the student athletes (and the fans) are the big losers here. And the national media's role in it is absolutely repulsive.
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